Edeline
After breakfast, the walls of the Packhouse felt like they were closing in on me. Darius must have sensed it, because he led me out toward the river. The morning sun danced on the water’s surface, and the steady, rhythmic rush of the stream usually would have calmed me. We talked about mindless things—patrol schedules and pack gossip—and for a little while, the weight in my chest felt a fraction lighter.
We reached a break in the treeline where the cliffs loomed over our territory, a view that usually took my breath away. Darius stopped, checking his watch.
"I have to get to training," he said, looking at me with those protective blue eyes. "I'll be finished in about two hours. Stay here, clear your head, or shift if you feel the urge. Just... don't go back and lock yourself in your room, okay? We’ll go for that run when I’m back. I promise."
He gave my hair a messy ruffle and a small smile before jogging back the way we came. I watched him go, feeling grateful for the silence. I sat by the water’s edge, dipping my fingers into the icy current, trying to let the peace of the woods drown out the noise in my head.
The sun was warm on my skin, and I closed my eyes, listening to the rustle of the leaves. For a moment, I almost felt whole.
Then, the air shifted.
The back of my neck prickled. That heavy, suffocating sensation of being watched settled over me, sharp as a physical touch. My eyes snapped open. The woods looked still, but the feeling was undeniable.
I scanned the brush where Darius had disappeared. There, in the shadows, a pair of eyes stared back at me. My heart gave a single, hard thud against my ribs.
A massive white wolf exploded from the undergrowth.
He moved with a terrifying, fluid speed, charging straight for me. I didn't run. I didn't even flinch. A strange, cold numbness washed over me as I sat there, simply watching him approach.
The wolf stopped just feet away, his gaze burning into mine. Then, the sickening sound of shifting began—the wet crack of bone and the slide of muscle. In seconds, the wolf was gone, replaced by Percival.
He stood over me, completely naked and unashamed, his powerful body tensed as if he were ready to strike or flee. His eyes were wide, filled with a desperate, frantic longing that made my stomach turn.
Before I could breathe, he lunged forward, pinning me with his shadow. He leaned in, his lips inches from mine. I could feel the heat of his skin, the jagged edge of his breath, and the sheer urgency radiating off him. Just as he leaned in to close the gap, I slammed my hands against his chest and shoved him back.
"What is wrong with you, Percival?" I snapped, my voice trembling with a mix of fury and fear. "Why are you following me? Why are you even here?"
His face twisted, a flash of raw agony crossing his features. "We need to talk, Edeline."
"Talk?" I let out a sharp, bitter laugh. "How did you even find me?"
His gaze softened, though the intensity remained. "I can find your scent anywhere. It’s all I can think about. My wolf... he’s losing his mind trying to get to you. It's impossible to control anything when it comes to you."
I looked at him blankly, my heart turning to stone. "We have nothing to say to each other. Go back to your future Luna. She's waiting for you."
I turned to walk away, but his hand shot out, his fingers bruising my arm as he pulled me back. "Please," he croaked, his voice thick with a pleading desperation. "Just listen."
I turned back, and the sight of him almost broke me. His blue eyes were glassy, swimming with unshed tears, and his face was etched with a deep, haunting shame. He looked like he was drowning. I could feel his struggle, and despite the hole he’d ripped in my heart, I felt a traitorous spark of empathy.
"I want you to know the truth of what happened," he said, his voice shaking.
"I don't want to hear it," I said, my voice cold and flat. "It doesn't matter anymore."
"It does matter!" he insisted, his jaw tightening with a sudden, fierce determination. "I need you to understand."
I shook my head and turned my gaze back to the river, silent. He took the silence as an invitation.
"Edeline, the camp... it wasn't like home. The men there are constantly at each other's throats, fighting for dominance. The women were the only ones who were halfway decent, but they don't treat the mate bond the same way we do."
"Neither do you, apparently," I whispered.
He flinched as if I'd struck him, hanging his head. "I do. I always have. Tatiana was just a friend—someone I could talk to when everyone else was trying to take my head off. We were never alone, not until... two weeks before I was supposed to come home. She went into heat."
I felt a fresh wave of nausea. This was the nightmare I’d been trying to outrun, and now he was forcing me to look at it.
He looked down at the ground, his eyes avoiding mine. "It hit her without warning. We were up late, everyone else was asleep, and suddenly... it was just there. I should have seen it. I should have smelled it coming, but I didn't! I don't understand why I didn't see the signs!"
He slammed his fists into the dirt, the sound of his frustration echoing through the clearing. I watched him, my mind racing. A female’s heat isn't a surprise. You can smell it for weeks; the signs are unmistakable to any male, especially an Alpha-blood. It didn't make sense for her to be caught off guard.
"Once it started... a male can't fight that, Edeline. You know that. The instinct takes over."
I knew he was right. An unmated male is a slave to a female in heat; it’s a primal, unstoppable pull. A tear escaped and rolled down my cheek. I kept my eyes on the grass, feeling the heat of his stare burning into my skin.
"But, Edeline..." He reached out, though he didn't touch me. "I won't mark her. I refuse."
I lifted my head, searching his eyes for a lie, for a hint of the man who had betrayed me. I found nothing but a haunting sincerity.
He really wouldn't mark her. He was choosing me, even now, in the middle of the wreckage.
